I feel the need to express my passions as they relate to this radio program/blog. Before I do I want to make it clear that I am not attempting to elevate my personal passions above anyone else's; we've all got a story, after all. In fact, as with anyone, my passion towards the church stems from my experiences within the Body of Christ more than my studies about the church.
Very few people truly understands what it is to be a pastor. Most people look at it as a job not unlike a school teacher or an assembly line worker. This view is not limited to the "laity"; even pastors can view it as such. But for the truly God-called shepherd, we understand the emotional commitment that is made for every single one of the sheep placed in our care. When we lose a lamb, it is painful. To lose an entire church, as I did, in a cascade of selfish carnality perfectly masqueraded as spiritual outrage, well, there really are no words to describe that level of personal pain. It goes beyond the sense of professional failure. I equate it to losing your entire familial bloodline in one tragic afternoon.
I am not the first pastor to have terrible experiences in the church setting; unfortunately I won't be the last one either. I recognize God's plan for me required me to travel this particular road. Like Job, I was riddled with the most difficult of our spiritual and emotional maladies to self diagnose, pride and self governance. Truth be told, I still wrestle with these insipid diseases of the soul and God, as always, is actively involved in bringing me to my knees on a regular basis. That said, I also recognize the church-tour God has taken me on has also taught me that He is not very happy with the state of the dis-union within His body.
The passions I have are stirred by the hand of my Creator; of this I have no doubt. My passion for His body is not to raise these debatable issues for the purpose of swaying the public to my opinion. My ultimate goal is to shine the spotlight on the division within the body of Christ with the purpose of teaching people how to seek a "just weight" (Proverbs 11:1) between the ditches of extremism that border the narrow road we are to be traveling on (Matthew 7:14).
We are a people of labels. We enter into most doctrinal arguments with really two primary goals; to establish our opinions, educated or otherwise, normally in a defensive posture and to identify those who disagree with our argument and properly label them. In most great debates there is little room for a moderate view. There are either Calvanists or Armenians, Legalists or Liberals, the right side of the road or the left side. I have come to learn that God is not an extremist...at least from His perspective. He is walking down the middle of that "narrow way" and is asking His people to "follow me".
Division occurs when our opinions and beliefs take priority over our leader's. Mutiny never occurs within submitted crewmen. Wars take place when we stop bending the knee and begin trying to bend others to our way of thinking. The Human spirit is a self-willed spirit and the process of bringing that under submission is a long and (usually) painful one. Killing the flesh is hard because the flesh just doesn't want to die. In fact, when our flesh senses its position as the power broker of our soul is in danger of demotion, like a fatally wounded animal it will fight to the death.
This issue of the woman's role in church isn't about putting women in charge of a church or letting a woman preach a sermon. It is truly about submission to God and His will for us. It is about learning how to yield to Him even when doing so flies in the face of our established beliefs and understanding of His doctrine (Proverbs 3:5b). God did not start the church to raise a race of Bible-believing warriors who will fight anyone and everyone (including family members) who dares to contradict "the faith" (Jude 3). His ultimate desire for us is to raise a race of God-believing praying/worshiping warriors who are submitted to the process of being conformed to the image of the Son, ready at a moment's notice to do whatever the Captain of our souls calls us to do even if it will earn us criticism, labels and worse from our enemies to our own family members (Romans 8:27-31).
Many will take offense to these statements and read into what I am saying as an attack against anyone who does not agree with my belief system. I say to you, nothing could be further from the truth. Is it possible for people with differing opinions on issues like a woman's role in the church to work together in harmony and unity for our King? I believe it is more than possible as long as our personal goals aren't to be proven right in our opinions. The division in the church is a result of the war of opinions between self-governed soulish saints. The division will end once God's people recognize their place in the Kingdom and learn how to completely submit to the King.
Probably the worst thing to happen to God's church is the division between laity and clergy. When educated men began to stand upon the rock of their theological doctorates and ceremonial vestments rather than the rock of Jesus Christ. When shepherds began to separate themselves from the flock in an attempt to elevate their status from servant to head. I believe if you study the doctrines of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:6) you'll find the clergy/laity separation was a key component of what God hated about them.
When we come to understand that we are all ministers of the gospel of God regardless of gender, race, color or creed, then we can begin the process of ending the division and putting an end to the wars among us. It is past time for God's people to learn the basics of submission to the King. This, above all else, is the purpose behind ChurchQuake. God is shaking up the church in an attempt to remove the things made with hands (man's traditions, protocols, procedures, etc) in order to establish His Kingdom on the earth (Hebrews 12:26-28). My desire is to see God HIGH and LIFTED UP in the earth and to be used of my King to put an end to the fighting among ourselves once and for all...if at all possible. This is my passion and my purpose.
So whether you agree or disagree with me on these issues, the ultimate question is, can we still serve our King together? Can we find the healthy balance and stay out of the ditches of extremism? Can we stop labeling those we disagree with and just walk in obedience to God's word (John 13:34-35)? Can we come together as brethren and stop the wars in our members (James 3)? It's a tall order but I believe it is possible (Luke 1:37)...
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